A hot-socketing feature allows insertion or removal of a circuit board without requiring to power down a system. The circuit board having the hot-socketing feature is capable to be powered up immediately when inserted into the powered system. Therefore, the circuit board, which houses integrated circuits (ICs), minimizes propagation of electrical current within the ICs, especially the electrical current across junction diodes within the ICs.
Current hot-socketing techniques utilize a comparator that blocks the electrical current propagating through the junction diodes when the IC is powering up. The comparator ensures that the junction diodes are not forward-biased to prevent drawing a large amount of current. Therefore, the comparator needs to function as early as possible, as voltage supplies ramp up.
However, the minimum supply voltage at which the comparator correctly functions is limited by its circuit architecture. The comparator has a relatively small input-referred offset when powered by a relatively high voltage supply. In contrast, when the comparator is powered by a relatively low voltage supply, the input-referred offset increases dramatically. This compromises the comparator functionality, leading to a relatively high amount of electrical current flowing through the junction diodes.
It is within this context that the embodiments described herein arise.